Mesa native serves with U.S. Navy in Guam

Mesa native Mark Owens is serving alongside the U.S. Navy at their Naval Base in Guam as a member of Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas, according to a press release.

Owens graduated from Mesquite High School in 2010 and recently graduated from Arizona State University. He joined NAVFAC six years ago and is currently working as a civilian mechanical engineer. Owens said growing up in Mesa has helped him succeed in Guam.

“I grew up in a tight-knit community,” Owens said in a blog post. “Guam is very family-oriented so it helped me to network and get to know the community here...I have some family here in Guam and I recently graduated from Arizona State University. Accepting this position was a nice way to transition and come over to Guam.”

Owens has been hard at work during his time in Guam. He’s especially proud of the work his team did with the super typhoon Mawar in 2023.

“Our organization did the design and construction for all three bases. We spent nearly two months working on a scope of work identifying deficiencies and damage from the typhoon. We went to nearly every building on base to assess it,” Owens said. “...It’s a big role to help keep everything running smoothly.”

In the blog post, Owens also thanked two individuals in particular.

“I would like to thank my supervisor Eugene Mesa,” Owens said. “He has been a big help and mentor since I started here. He has always been a big wealth of knowledge. I would also like to thank my uncle Don Henderson. He helped me with moving out here and we have a family dinner every weekend. He’s also a mechanical engineer and has a lot of experience in his career.”